Page 2 Portland Observer, October 15, 1981
Swaziland celebrates jubilee
by N. t-ungai K um hula
Both ends against the middle
In a sum m ary o f the P ortland Development
C o m m issio n ’ s d ra ft docum ent, the N ortheast
area is described as “ an area that has historically
been plagued by a set o f specific conditions asso
ciated w ith high u n e m p lo ym e n t, a high crim e
rate, and c o n ce n tra tio n o f substandard hous
in g .” It is said that,
. these social issues in
fluence investment decisions and w ill require co
ordinated C ity e ffo rt to overcom e past percep
tions and achieve a m ore positive business c li
mate.”
The conditions described are not just “ social
issues.” They are the result o f econom ic issues
and racial issues over which the Northeast com
m u n ity has little c o n tro l. These co n d itio n s are
not just “ perceptions” to be overcome; they are
as real as the bleak hope fo r the fu tu re fe lt by
poor and unemployed residents and small busi
nesses trying to survive and grow.
We realize that m any m onths have gone in to
preparation o f P D C ’ s Northeast econom ic de-
ve lo p m e n t p ro p o sa l. U n fo rtu n a te ly , the a p
proach and basic construction being offered re
sembles a stale b ric k -a n d -m o rta r sandw ich at
each end o f NE U nion, stuffed high at the center
w ith struggling small businesses m arinated w ith
poor residents and spread thick w ith slick m ar
keting brochures.
The core neighborhoods centered in this de
velo p m e n t sandw ich w ill not achieve greater
q u a lity o f life unless P D C ’ s proposal increases
in v is io n and c o m m itm e n t to m id d le U n io n
A venue and K in g , Boise and E lio t n e ig h b o r
hoods. M ore can be done in these previously in
tended c ity targets fo r econom ic developm ent
and investment commitments.
To dem onstrate real com m itm ent to a co o r
dinated C ity e ffo rt and to respond to problems
of unem ploym ent and training, business attrac
tion, small and m in o rity business assistance, and
su bstand ard hou sing , P D C must address the
core area.
Tell the world
Jack Faust’s television show, Tow n H all, fea
tured p o lic e /c o m m u n ity relations last Sunday.
The Police Bureau was there in fu ll force— w ith
C h ie f R on S till and even O ffic e r P a n tle y o f
possum fame.
Some fo ru m -typ e program m oderators have
little regard fo r their participants— cutting them
o f f after a few words o r leaving them hanging—
so many citizens have refused to appear on these
programs.
Faust is fa ir and even-handed, g ivin g every
one a chance to finish his thought. This program
is a good o p p o rtu n ity fo r members o f the m i
n o rity com m unity to express their ideas and ex
plain what is happening.
M in o rity input should not be lim ited to those
areas o f direct concern like c iv il rights and m i
n o rity programs, but should be expressed on all
topics o f public discussion.
IT’S ABOUT TIME YOU COT THAT STUFF FINISHED.
NOU/ U/HFR£'S IMY ELECTRIC BUTTER KNIFE
1ND SOLAR WATER PICK?
/PORT Ä H
WATER BUREAU
and
esretuTi ve tc < x
an J
service
?
Heads o f State fro m twenty-three
c o u n trie s o r th e ir rep re sen ta tives
poured in to Mbabane on September
4 o f th is year as the tin y m o u n ta in
kingdom o f Sw aziland observed the
6 0 ,h year o f the u nb ro ken reign o f
King Sobhuza II. He is the w o rld ’ s
longest re ig n in g m o n a rc h and the
o nly one who has wielded real p o liti
cal power th ro u g h o u t his “ career.”
T he n o w -8 2 -y e a r-o ld sage has the
pow er to a p p o in t and d ism iss the
prim e m inister or any o f the cabinet
m inisters; a p re ro ga tive he has fre
q ue ntly exercised in the pas, several
vo latile years.
It was a gala a ffa ir, a festive res
p ite fro m the e veryda y rig o u rs o f
Swazi life , b u t, underneath the fes
tiv itie s , the problem s lay sm oulder
ing. A t the to p o f the list is the in
crea sin g ly spre ad ing cancer called
c o r r u p tio n . It is w id e ly a c k n o w
ledged th a t th e K in g h im s e lf is
above re p ro a c h in th is regard bu,
several o l his h ig h -ra n k in g govern
m ent o f f ic ia ls are k n o w n to have
been embezzling government o r ta k
ing bribes fro m fo re ig n companies
investing in Swaziland.
The new prim e m inister, Maband-
la D h la m in i, came to power in 1979
pledging to root out c o rru p tio n and
th ie ve ry. He a pp ointed a C o m m is
sion o f In q u ir y to lo o k in to the
charge and Tor a w hile it looked as i f
the c u lp r its w o u ld be b ro u g h t to
book. How ever, the suspected p o li
tician s q u ic k ly h it back te llin g the
K in g th a t sh ou ld they be in d ic te d ,
his ow n fa m ily was lik e ly to be in
volved too. The King stepped in and
abolished the C om m ission.
Case one: fo rm e r d e p u ty p rim e
m inister Zonke K h um a lo , appeared
as a witness in a large embezzlement
case. He was w arned th a t his ow n
im m u n ity fro m persecu tion w o u ld
be w ith d ra w n i f his te s tim o n y
p ro v e d to be less th a n t r u t h f u l.
H ow ever, when he was asked what
had happened to some $100,000 that
had gone missing, his unabashed re
sponse was, “ Mice ate i t . "
This wus tantam ount to adm itting
it was s to le n . Z o n k c ’ s im m u n ity
was w ithdraw n but so far he has not
yet been prosecuted.
Case tw o: The w ife o f the M in is
ter o f Justice stands tria l accused o f
stealing medical supplies at the c lin
ic where she w orks as a nurse. This
tune the Prim e M in is te r personally
interven es to m ake sure the case
goes fo rw a rd . As yet th e re is no
judgm ent but the reform ers did see
that as a m in or victo ry.
Case three: We are getting m ore
sinister now : Jerem iah D ube, f o r
merly the head o f the police m urder
squad is scheduled Io stand tria l this
m on th along w ith a M babane (the
c a p ita l) b u sine ssw om an b o th a c
cused o f r itu a l m u rd e rs in w h ich
parts o f the victim s’ bodies were cut
o f f to be used as “ m u t i, " a potent
fo rm o f ’ ’ m e d ic in e ” used in v o o
d o o . Several p o litic ia n s are sus
pected o f engaging in th is practice
even though both the K ing and the
Prim e M in iste r have condem ned it
in the strongest terms.
As the struggle fo r South A fric a
intensities, Swaziland fin d s herself
caught in the m iddle. As a member
o f the O A U which strongly supports
the liberation o f South A fric a both
via the d ip lo m a tic channels and the
n ow -tried and-true arm ed struggle
route. Swaziland has no o p tio n but
to su pp ort the p o s itio n o f the A f
rican N a tio n a l Congress (the A N C
which is the movement ca rryin g on
the struggle)
On the o the r hand, being o n ly a
tin y c o u n try (ro u g h ly the size o i
M a ry la n d ) and e n circle d on three
sides by South A fric a , this support
has had Io be m uted fo r fear o f re
prisals fro m the a p a rth e id regim e.
So far l ittle S w aziland has played
the role o f a fence-sitter rather ad
m ira b ly but th a t is b e co m in g in
creasingly d iffic u lt now.
I he next several years, therefore,
promise to be very lively for this tiny
mountain hamlet, Everybody w on
ders what is going to happen when
the old monarch finally takes o ff to
go |oin his many ancestors.
Letters to the Editor
Racism brings high costs
Z’o the e dito r:
I'm writing this letter concerning
the story I read in The O re g o n ia n
about a Brother named ( Italics II
King, who was in P ortland, and
talked about the problems with race
in \inerica Reading this storv will
make ix'ople think why race is a lac
lor in this country, from seeing his
ideas. Whiles who were listening to
him tell hurl and mad. W hites don’t
like to hear a Black man talk about
the pain Blacks must face here in
America
You must understand whv Blacks
have identified with racism Whites
always have an adverse effect lot
Blacks It seems Mr. King was max
mg his points, and the truth is, his
lory reveals the evil the whiles have
had lo t Blacks, and today whites
teel no d iffe re n t about race rela
tions.
Well, vou might hear whites say,
“ I don’ t hate Blacks as long as
thev’ ie staying in their place.”
Hl.it ks can be accepted, only it you
are not a problem to the system.
Otherwise, you are put in prisons,
and are killed.
M , . King said the ghetto condi
tions aie perpetuated by decent law
abiding white citizens. Whiles deny,
ami lll.it k- in t.'i loieet. that while
in stitutio n s created the ghetto.
whiles maintain it, and whiles con
trol it II seems whiles have a nega
live image about Blacks being hi the
ghetto.
While control over agendas bung
resenimeui from Blacks, with high
unemployment. welfare crime, and
negative effects that control Black
people’s lives, with Blacks suffering
lio in lasisin, whiles must pav lor
more prisons, police, welfare, and
loi this reason the whiles fear them.
Mi King makes it cleat.
HI.n k have lo Id whiles know then
let luu-
. a
iboui i . icisiii lieie in Xincii
Marcus Jack sun
Nigerian students suffer from slander
To the e d ito r:
Be concerned!
Be informed!!
Know the facts!!!
Subscribe Today!
R eceive your Observer by m ail
Only $10 per year.
the U nited Stales could defraud the
the same lim e , I question the over-
U nited State’ s fin an cia l in s titu tio n s
gcne ra li/ia lio n o l such damaging in-
It is .i popular saying that, "w h e n
w ith “
a high degree o f sophisti
h u m .iiio n . M ost o f us are har-
w c a iv jjg h t nobody remembers, but
c a tio n .
M ost o l o u r N ig e ria n f i
bm gcis o f “ good values, tra d itio n s
when we are w ro n g -q o b o d y f o r
nancial in s titu tio n s are not as lech-
and re so urcefulne ss.” Hence. N i
g e ts ." I hus, the A in c n b u ^ p u b lic
n n lo g iz c d as the U .S . We have no
gerians arc still good people.
has been led to believe that bCaausc
idea o l c re d it c a rd , o r any o f ihe
4 m h ily Etekpe
’ ’ few naturalized U .S. citizens, fo r
c o m p lic itie s c la im e d by C y n th ia
E d ito r in C hief
m e rly o f N ig e ria ” have been i n
la n k {T h e C o lu m b ia n ) and T om
Nigerian Students
v o lv e d in w hat The C o lu m b ia n
H a llm a n , Jr. {S unday O regonian).
Quarterly Magazine
( 9 /2 7 /8 I ) and The Sunday O regoni
Therefore, it seems to me ihat ihcse
an (1 0 /1 4 /8 1 ) called the “ N igerian
crim inals must have got some as
K in g ,” a ll the 200 N igerians in the
• «•(«•*1 a t
» •***«•■(«• «Jan« SIMM
sistance from personnel in the fin a n
"V
....
P o rtla n d area arc " b a d a n d /o r so-
cial comm unities.
j p h is lic a ic d c r im in a ls .” N ig e ria n s
T o put it m o re s u c c in c tly , C.
, are good people b o th at hom e and
la n k stated that Ihcse c rim in a ls re
, here in the U n ite d S lates. W h ile I
ceived some “ tra in in g in the Niger
l c o n d e m n the act o f “ is s u in g bad
ian Em bassy in W a s h in g to n ,
I checks o r th a t act o f b re a k in g the
D .(
This is a gross misrepresen
• la w , " I dism iss every in te n t o f the
ta tion . She should realize that such
• mass m edia in the U .S. a tte m p tin g
noxious exaggeration is c ry p tic and
’ lo la b e l N ig e ria n s as the “ w o rs t
far exceeds ju s tifia b le lim its
( c rim in a ls ___ ”
•» ».i.
N o student can travel lo the U.S.
«*91 « IM » M
,
I protest against such dangerous
U « IM « I M « a lli
unless h c /s h c has c o n v in c e d the
••
•••II« IMIIM
I over-generalization, which is calcu- U.S. Embassy O ffic e in Nigeria that
Iir i M im
«»m
I lated to tarnish the image o f N igcr-
rikMA«4 k *4
h e /sh e has been d u ly a d m itte d .
l tans. As a jo u rn a lis t, it is well w orth
Ih us, C ynthia T a n k ’ s assertion that
1 noting that opinionated writings and/
a lte r th e y e n te r the c o u n try
o r sta te m e n ts are o fte n m o re in
fro m N igeriä, they usually e n ro ll in
teresting to the pub lic than straight
c o lle g e . . . ” is d u b io u s and u n
accounts. Hence, P enlcl-ow ner and
called-for.
President o f Chcx Systems and C rit
A g a in , I d o n ot a d m ire crim e s ’ ;.’¿../J •. .•n,-,!
. ...
* " ' •
tenden were very c o lo rfu l, fo rc e fu l
such as “ w r itin g bad checks and
and a m u s in g in p re s e n tin g th e ir
abusing the usage o f credit c a rd s ."
........ *
f “ •*»
» “ *W4
,
views th a t, “ N igerians are sta rtin g It is a c r im in a l act in N ig e ria , as
• ......... »
» U li
, U 4M
2
to use C o m m o n A m e ric a n names well. Since they are naturalized U.S,
---------------
lik e S m ith lo open c h e c k in g ac citizen s, they sh ou ld be dealt w ith
.
------
c o u n ts .” T h e y are n o l c o rre c t in according to (he prescribed laws. A t
¿ ¿ X ix x r —
-
th e ir observations. R ather, the o r i
g in o f o u r N ig e ria n o r A fr ic a n
W estern names is traced to C h ris
..... ..
tia n ity . W h e n once a N ig e ria n o r
A fric a n is “ converted to the C hris
tia n fa ith ,” he/she is baptized and
A Fire or tornado, sickness or
given a C h ristia n name. Those “ so-
injury, mantial troubles or any
called C h ris tia n nam es’ ’ are W est
number of other problems can
IT COULD HAPPEN
e rn nam es. T h u s , we bear names
happen to anyone. By giving to
TO YOU
such as J o h n , Jo ne s, W illia m s ,
United Way, you're making
S m ith , M u rp h y and (he lik e . These
sure that help will be there if
are factors that those w ho ponder to
you need it.
m o rb id c u r io s ity a b o u t vice and
crim e do not reckon.
It is su rp rising to us as to how a
Nigerian who is only a few weeks in
mm
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Bruce Broussard
Editor/Publisher
» 11
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